Former Anglo Irish Bank boss David Drumm has attacked the latest release of recordings made at the height of the banking crisis and said he will not allow himself to be made a scapegoat for the financial collapse.
The U.S. based Drumm made his remarks to the Irish state broadcaster RTE after the Sunday Independent newspaper published more transcripts from the Anglo Tapes.
The RTE website reports that Drumm issued his statement as the transcripts of more recordings he had with another former Anglo executive John Bowe are published in the Sunday Independent.
Drumm attacked what he called the ‘drip, drip, drip; release of phone recordings made at Anglo Irish Bank in 2008.
He said: “I am being made a scapegoat by politicians and politically connected former bankers and politically protected senior pubic servants.
“These people do not want to see their role in the crisis highlighted. A campaign of misinformation about the bank guarantee has been going on for several years and it has to stop if the public are to finally understand what happened.”
Now resident in America, Drumm repeated his call for all recordings made at Irish banks to be made public.
The latest tapes published in the Sunday Independent feature Drumm and Bowe discussing how Anglo is coming close to breaking rules on the amount of liquidity it should keep in reserve.
The conversation was recorded some time over late August or early September 2008.
Drumm is heard to say that falling below the regulatory minimums are not in themselves a disaster for the bank - unless somebody finds out about them.
RTE reports that he also refers to preparations for talks with the Central Bank and says Anglo may need to approach the Central Bank if cash becomes a problem.
Anglo did alert the Central Bank in advance that it was going to breach its liquidity ratios. The report concludes that it is understood a number of Irish banks breached their ratios in September 2008.
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